Short Takes – 5-18-23

Successful critical infrastructure security regulations use risk-informed approach. Duo.com article. Pull quote: ““It really depends on how cybersecurity regulations are developed and implemented,” said Katherine Ledesma, head of public policy and government affairs at Dragos. “If they are thoughtfully developed and implemented, in coordination with experts from the affected sectors or industry, they certainly can raise the bar on cybersecurity maturity for that sector and also reduce aggregate risk to the nation. As we continue this conversation about cybersecurity regulation we need to keep focus on true risk reduction and security and not focus as much on simple compliance.””

House Panel Advances Bills to Boost CISA’s Oversight of Open Source Software, Cyber Training. NextGov.com article. Pull quote: “In a unanimous voice vote, the House Homeland Security Committee favorably passed legislation that would require the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency to develop a framework for strengthening the security of open source software used by federal agencies, as well as hire and further engage with open source security experts.”

House votes to send Santos expulsion resolution to Ethics Committee. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: ““Can any of you point to a single case where somebody’s been expelled from Congress without a conviction or a referral [from the Ethics Committee]?” he asked, which was followed by silence. “Right. So if the standard now is: A member of Congress lies — and by the way, he’s done a lot of lying — but if that’s the standard then there’s a lot of members that are gonna be expelled pretty quickly.”” Good coverage.

Russian computer breached DC Metro system: watchdog. TheHill.com article. Pull quote: “Initial findings indicated a computer in Russia accessed “a sensitive WMATA directory” with the credentials of a contractor who no longer worked for Metro, but whose high-level access had been maintained in hopes that the contract would be renewed. The investigation found “the computer in Russia was turned on at the direction of the former contractor who remotely accessed his computer in Russia.”” Bit of click-bait in article title, but interesting coverage.

Why the Manhattan DA’s Trump Case Cannot Be Removed to Federal Court. LawfareBlog.com post. Pull quote: “Trump now alleges that he made those [Stormy Daniels] payments as part of his federal duties, and as a result, the criminal case against him belongs in federal court. Trump’s lawyers have invoked the obscure federal officer removal statute. This statute allows an “officer of the United States” to remove a prosecution from state court to federal court. But the former president can only remove the case to federal court if he was an “officer of the United States.” Fortunately for District Attorney Alvin Bragg, there are good reasons to conclude that the elected president was not an “officer of the United States,” so the case should stay in Manhattan criminal court.”

National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC); Meeting. Federal Reserve NARA meeting notice. Summary: “We are announcing an upcoming National Industrial Security Program Policy Advisory Committee (NISPPAC) meeting in accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act and implementing regulations.” Meeting date June 5^th, 2023. No agenda available.